Pakistan has clarified that it has no intention to resume trade relations with India. The trade relations between India and Pakistan have been “non-existent” since 2019 after the Indian government revoked which have been nonexistent since 2019 when the Indian government abrogated Article 370 of the Constitution, thereby nullifying the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.
Pakistan’s Foreign Office gave this clarification post the recent remarks by the new Foreign Minister, Ishaq Dar, in London, where he said that Pakistan would seriously consider the possibility of reinstating trade relations with India, which have been suspended since August 2019.
What did Pakistan say on restoring trade relations with India?
During the weekly briefing, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for the Foreign Office, was questioned regarding reports suggesting the potential resumption of trade relations with India.
“Pakistan-India trade relations have been non-existent since 2019 when India took illegal steps in the illegally occupied Jammu and Kashmir…There is no change in Pakistan’s position on it,” Baloch said.
During a press conference on March 23 in London, Foreign Minister Dar emphasised the eagerness of Pakistan’s business community to recommence trade with India, indicating a potential change in diplomatic approach towards India.
Pakistan has consistently maintained that the responsibility for improving relations lies with India, urging it to reverse its “unilateral” actions in Kashmir as a precondition for initiating talks.
India has dismissed the proposal and firmly communicated to Pakistan that the Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh are integral and inseparable parts of the country. New Delhi has further emphasised that the constitutional actions undertaken by the Indian government to promote socio-economic progress and effective governance in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir are internal matters of India.
(With PTI inputs)